If you noticed a haunted expression on some people's faces this week, you've seen Theatre Festival Fever (TFF) in action. What with the opening show in the Gaiety on Sunday, four shows opening on Tuesday, one on Wednesday and another two on Thursday - not forgetting the 101 Fringe Festival events - many are suffering the strain of just one opening night too many.
Eithne Healy, who is throwing herself with her usual vigour into her last year as the festival's chairwoman, was sounding a little hoarse on Monday but insisted the madness hadn't even begun, while by Wednesday night at the opening of Couleurs de Femme in the Project, Fringe director Ali Curran was losing her voice altogether. For the rest of Dublin's first night habituees, the only real problem was working out how many first nights they could manage. On Tuesday night, Macnas's Diamonds In The Soil at the Olympia was a popular choice, even if it was slightly pipped at the post, celeb-wise, by Brian Friel's version of Uncle Vanya at the Gate. Spotted at the Olympia was Polly Devlin, who was back in town in order to open an exhibition of Patricia Jorgensen's gorgeous water colours in her Kingram Place salon on Thursday. Kieran and Viv Guinness were there, as was author Michael O'Sullivan and artists' agent Isobel Smith, who was in the company of the Hon Liz Vereker, who recently celebrated a big birthday with a party in her home in Kildare. At the Gate, Brian Friel held court with his wife Anne Friel, his daughter Judy Friel, his agent Leah Schmidt and the play's director, Ben Barnes. Here guests included playwright Tom Murphy; artist Louis le Brocquy; artists Felim Egan and Janet Pierse, who currently has a show at the Taylor Gallery; Gerry and Morah Ryan and actor Alan Stanford, who is going to direct the Gate's next production, Cyrano de Bergerac. The new chief executive of Aer Lingus, Gary Cullen, was there as were Maureen Potter and her husband Jack O'Leary. By Wednesday night, cries of "Deja vu!" were heard as several of the guests who had met at Uncle Vanya met again the following night at the Abbey for Marina Carr's By the Bog of Cats. The reunion included Mike Murphy, James Hickey, chairman of the Abbey board; Michael Colgan, director of the Gate; author Deirdre Purcell; actor Barry McGovern, Kathleen Watkins and Brian Farrell, chairman of the Arts Council.
Additional luminaries included Sir Richard Eyre, the former artistic director of the National Theatre in Britain, who had just given a public talk in the Gaiety theatre; Gerry Stembridge, whose script for Ordinary Decent Criminals is currently being shot in Dublin with actress Linda Fiorentino; Abbey artistic director Patrick Mason; Shivaun O'Casey; singer Marianne Faithfull; the Mexican ambassador Daniel Dultzin, who is holding a reception at his residence to celebrate the re-launch of poet John Montague's Death of a Chieftain next week; director Garry Hynes; a brace of TDs including Proinsias De Rossa and John Gormley; a hat trick of poets including Derek Mahon, Micheal O'Siadhail and Eilean Ni Chuileanain; and finally a quartet of playwrights, Sebastian Barry, Tom Kilroy, Vincent Woods and Bernard Farrell.
Forgotten Angels
`Yes, it is my baby," laughed Janice Ryan. "It has taken just over eight months so that's what it feels like." She was referring to Forgotten Angels, an impressive compilation album designed to aid Temple Street Children's Hospital, and which was launched at the Red Box on Monday night. The album developed from Little Angels, a single released in aid of the hospital last Christmas.
Such was its success that Janice was asked to expand the project into a full album and so began the process of badgering artists from U2 to Van Morrison and Boyzone to contribute a track. Janice's persuasion skills would obviously put a politician to shame, as the contributors' list reads like a who's who of Irish music - The Corrs are in there, so are The Dubliners, Brian Kennedy, Clannad, Christy Moore and Mary Black. What's even more important for the charity is the fact that all the artists have contributed their royalties from their song on the album to the hospital for three years.
Singer Enya, with her management, Nicky and Roma Ryan, went one better and gave a donation of £10,000 to the project. The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, rowed in on Monday evening to lend his support to the project. The podium from which he gave his rousing speech was decked out with a fleet of small angels which fluttered gaily as Bertie spoke - his PR adviser should really consider using fleets of cherubim on a regular basis as the effect was most impressive. Gerry Ryan acted as MC for the night and emphasised the fact that 2FM was throwing its full support behind the CD.
Of course this led to some goodnatured teasing as Brian Molloy of Lunar Records, who produced the album, was next up to speak. He is on the board of Today FM and was quick to reassure the crowd that it would be given air-time on that station, too.
Some of the musicians featured on the album turned up at the party including Christy Dignam from Aslan; harmonica bluesman Don Baker; Liam O Maonlai from the Hot House Flowers; Finbar Furey; The Carter Twins and Sharon Shannon. Philomena Lynott represented her son, the late Phil Lynott, whose track Sarah is on the album. As is often the case, there was a Beckett feeling about the evening best described as "Waiting For Bono" - the guys are recording in town at the moment and rumours of their imminent arrival were rife but ill-founded.
There was also a strong showing of fashion designers including Jen Kelly, Michael Mortell and Richard Lewis, who said that his phone had been hopping off the hook all day with people wanting to know his opinions on designer Paul Costelloe's recent remarks about Irish style. Michael, who was due to appear on the Six O'Clock News talking about the same story, nodded his agreement. Indeed, rarely has a storm in a teacup so dominated chit-chat on the social scene.
Art by the Lee
It is a mark of the high regard in which the Triskel Arts Centre is held by artists themselves that when the call went out for paintings for a second art auction in aid of the Triskel building fund, some 58 artists responded. The auction took place on Tuesday in the Maryborough House Hotel in Cork and raised a resounding £43,000, half of which will go to the artists and the other straight into the Triskel coffers.
Over wine and supper, auctioneer John de Vere White raised the bidding, taking in the highest price (£4,000) from UCC for a painting by Charlie Tyrell. Another popular lot was a piece by young Cork sculptor Ben Rielly, who is now studying in London. Wendy Tisdall, of Max's Wine Bar in Kinsale, scooped up Rielly's Spikey Ball for £920 and had people flocking to her table to look at it all night. Ben's other piece, Little Fella, was snapped up by Mareta Doyle, who chaired the fundraising committee. When the third prize of a Swansea-Cork ferry trip was drawn, the ticket proved to belong to her husband Connor Doyle, the president of the Cork Chamber of Commerce and possessor of the tender for Swansea-Cork himself. At this point, John de Vere White stepped in and invited the ever-glamorous Joce Stewart of Janus Antiques in Kinsale to raffle off the prize a second time. Cleverly, Mareta had chosen the date of the auction to coincide with the High Court's presence in Cork so there was a number of barristers there, including Denis McCullough, Jim O'Driscoll and Michael Gleeson. Solicitors included Gerry O'Driscoll and Grattan Roberts, who hosted a table with his wife Mairead Roberts, a member of the committee.
There was a team of medics there too, including David Corr, Cyril Thornton and Peter Kenefick, whose wife Kalene Kenefick is also a committee member.
The art world was well represented by Peter Murray, Vera Ryan and Nuala Fenton, all from Crawford College; William Gallagher of UCC and artist Katherine Boucher Beug.
Cellar club
Any serious wine collector should put a red ring around next Friday in their diaries, as that is when a particularly important rare and fine wine gala auction will take place in Le Coq Hardi restaurant in Dublin. All of Ireland's major wine merchants, as well as some of the world's finest wine houses, have donated a collection of serious wines to the Irish Hospice Foundation, which will be auctioned by Nick Nugent of Goffs, to a very select crew of connoisseurs over a dinner prepared by John Howard, a man with a fine cellar himself. The last such auction was held 10 years ago when Michael Smurfit, Dermot Desmond, Paul McGuinness and Oliver Barry all bid fast and furiously over the wines and this year's sale looks set to be just as fierce. Long time supporters of the Hospice Foundation, including publisher Kevin Kelly, Paddy McKillen and Terry Greene, the CEO of Debenhams, have all booked tickets and Christian Moueix, proprietor of Chateau Petrus, will be the guest of honour. Christian has also donated a case of Chateau Petrus 1982 to the auction. If you have space in your cellar, call Edel at the IHF (tel: 01 6765599) to book your tickets. Places are limited to 50.